The procedure for cleaning a clogged drain, especially in a health care facility, creates the risk of exposure to hazardous and infectious medical waste. OSHA mandates that in a situation where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body fluids, all fluids and materials present shall be considered potentially infectious wastes. OSHA also recommends that bulk blood, excretions, secretions and tissue that can be ground should be disposed of by pouring them down a sanitary sewer drain. Since it is impossible to determine what type of fluids are present in a particular sewer drain, all traps and waste lines must be treated as an exposure hazard.
OSHA first recommends the incorporation of engineering controls to reduce or eliminate splashing, spraying or aerosolization of infectious materials, when such controls are available. Secondly, OSHA requires universal precautions such as gloves, goggles, and impervious aprons to further reduce the risk of exposure. Finally, at the completion of the job, any plumbing snake used in unclogging a drain must be stored in a durable, leak-proof container, and transported to a remote area for disinfecting and decontaminating prior to its next use per OSHA requirements.
To fully appreciate the hazards of servicing a clogged drain, it is necessary to understand the procedure. First, any standing water in the affected sink must be removed by bailing. Next, the trap is removed, and any remaining sewer wastes will splash and spray out of the opened waste line. Then, an electric snake is forced into and out of the waste line. The snake, which is a coiled steel cable, must be used while spinning in order to negotiate the turns in the waste pipe. The spinning cable will spray both solid and liquid wastes on the plumber, under enclosed cabinets, completely around the work area, everywhere. Finally, the trap is reassembled, and the system is tested to see if the clog has been removed. Quite often, two or more attempts are required before the clog is removed, and each successive attempt is made with already contaminated equipment.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,789 issued on Oct. 15, 1985 shows one valved fitting for attachment in place of a cleanout plug and another valved fitting to a "J" trap, but neither is such that it can be mounted between a trap and a waste line in such manner that a snake thrust through the fitting will be guided to the waste line rather than the trap. Furthermore, no means are provided whereby a snake used to clear a clog in the waste line can be cleaned and disinfected as it is withdrawn so as to not expose a plumber using it to contamination.